The present invention relates to stringed musical instruments of the type which include an instrument body, a neck extending therefrom and a plurality of strings attached at one end to the instrument body and at the other end to the neck. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved system for mounting the neck of the instrument to the instrument body in a manner so that the orientation of the neck can be easily, quickly and accurately adjusted. The stringed musical instruments in accordance with the present invention may include guitars, such as acoustic guitars, solid body electric guitars and acoustic electric guitars, but may also include other such stringed musical instruments such as, for example, banjos, mandolins, violins, lutes and/or other similar instruments. Although the principles of the present invention will be described herein in connection with guitars, and mainly acoustic guitars, it should be understood that the principles disclosed are also applicable to other types of guitars and other stringed instruments which have an instrument body and an elongated neck along which the strings are stretched.
Stringed musical instruments of the type with which the present invention is concerned typically include an instrument body and an elongated neck along which the strings are stretched. In a guitar, the strings are attached at one end to the neck of the instrument. This attachment is typically by means of tuning keys or tuning machines provided on the end of the neck remote from the instrument body, often termed the xe2x80x9cheadxe2x80x9d of the guitar. The strings then extend over a xe2x80x9cnutxe2x80x9d provided at the head end of the neck and extend along the neck toward the body. The other ends of the strings are attached either directly to a bridge which in turn is mounted on the body, or to a tailpiece provided behind the bridge mounted on the body and over which the strings extend. In the play of the instrument, the player moves his fingers up and down the neck, clamping the strings so as to shorten them and create various pitches as the strings are strummed, plucked, or otherwise excited. Typically, the neck of the instrument may be covered with a fingerboard which may carry frets thereon extending across the width of the neck so as to provide a means for anchoring the ends of the shortened strings at definite or desired locations.
In the case of an acoustic instrument, such as an acoustic guitar, the body of the instrument encloses a resonant sound chamber. Strumming, plucking or otherwise exciting the strings causes the strings to vibrate. This vibration in turn causes the bridge over which the strings extend to vibrate as well. In fact, the bridge forms the vibrating end point of the strings for every note that is played. Vibration of the bridge in turn causes the top of the acoustic instrument, known as the soundboard, to vibrate. Such vibration causes air entrapped within the sound chamber to move and generate the sound heard upon play of the instrument.
In the case of electric guitars, the instrument body is usually solid, and pickup devices are utilized to convert the string vibration into sound generated by an amplifier or the like. Some types of electric guitars are acoustic electric guitars which will function as an acoustic guitar but can also be provided with a pickup so that the acoustic sound is amplified.
There are three general kinds of neck joints which have been used in stringed musical instruments. xe2x80x9cNeck-throughxe2x80x9d instruments have a neck which extends completely through the instrument, and are almost always permanently glued in place. xe2x80x9cSet-neckxe2x80x9d instruments have a neck which is also permanently glued in place, with a tenon or dovetail joint where the body meets the neck. These instruments usually have a neck heel just forward of the body which extends down to the back of the body to provide support. Finally, there are xe2x80x9cbolt-onxe2x80x9d instruments which have an opening in the body where the neck overlaps the body, and where bolts are located which join the neck to the body. Generally, in this type of instrument, the neck joint is made solid so that no movement between the neck and body is possible during use of the instrument. However, the bolts can be loosened so that the neck can be removed from or repositioned in the body.
Acoustic guitars are traditionally set-neck instruments, with a neck heel just forward of the body and extending down to the back of the body. This forward protrusion beneath the neck adjacent the body restricts access to the highest region of the fingerboard during play. Electric guitars are commonly either set-neck instruments or bolt-on instruments. Common bolt-on instruments are economical to construct and repair. However, the drawbacks of the existing bolt-on designs are that the joint has less side-to-side rigidity than glued necks, and access to the highest region of the front of the fingerboard, near the body, is restricted by the body portion extending under the overlap of the neck.
As the bridge of a stringed musical instrument forms the vibrating end point of the strings for every note that is played, it is therefore extremely influential in determining the sound quality of the instrument. In this regard, it is important that the bridge be securely fastened to the top of the body so that it is fixed in place in order to ensure that energy from the vibrating strings is not needlessly lost. Even with solid body electric guitars, the bridge of the instrument still forms the end point of the strings for every note. A loose fitting bridge or one which is not securely fastened to the top will adversely affect the sound quality of the instrument. Also, anything that affects the position of the bridgexe2x80x94longitudinally, laterally, or the height above the top of the instrumentxe2x80x94can affect the sound quality of the instrument (as convenient nomenclature in describing the present invention, the term xe2x80x9clongitudinalxe2x80x9d is used to denote a direction generally parallel to the direction that the strings extend, and the term xe2x80x9clateralxe2x80x9d is used to denote a direction normal thereto but lying generally in or parallel to the plane of the strings. Similarly, the terms xe2x80x9cdownwardxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cverticalxe2x80x9d are used to denote a direction generally normal to the plane of the strings and thus normal to the surface of the top of the guitar).
The height or spacing of the strings above the fingerboard, often referred to as xe2x80x9caction,xe2x80x9d is generally controlled by the height of the bridge and of the nut, as well as the angularity of the top surface of the neck relative to the instrument body. In this regard, tilting of the neck downwardly relative to the guitar body serves to bring the strings closer to the fingerboard, and thus lowers the action. Conversely, tilting of the neck upwardly relative to the body tends to move the strings further away from the fingerboard, thus raising the action. The string/fingerboard spacing is generally a matter of personal preference for the player. However, there is a generally defined range or window of desirable action as no player wants an instrument having an excessively high or an excessively low action. The preference is for the player to be able to maintain the action of the instrument as desired. Thus, a limited degree or amount of adjustability of the string/fingerboard spacing is desirable, not only to accommodate individual preferences, but also to accommodate changes in the guitar""s response to the effects of time and environment.
The harmonic length of the individual strings of the instrument is generally determined by the distance between the bridge of the instrument located on the body and the nut which is located on the end of the neck remote from the body. Typically, the nut serves as the base reference point in counting the frets, such that the nut is the xe2x80x9czeroxe2x80x9d fret. The head of the neck may conveniently be angled away or downwardly relative to the fingerboard so as to ensure that the strings rest against the nut and then extend freely over the fingerboard to the bridge. The intonation or harmonic tone of the strings can be changed or adjusted by changing the distance between the bridge and the nut or other anchor point for the strings.
In many solid body electric guitars, the bridge elements may be adjustable longitudinally toward and away from the nut to adjust the intonation of the individual strings. Also, the overall bridge of the instrument may be mounted so as to be moveable longitudinally. In addition, in some instances, the bridge saddles or string support elements may be moved vertically as well to adjust the height or action of the strings. Although adjustable bridges have commonly been employed with electric guitars with satisfactory results, subtle improvements in tone and/or new piezo bridge pickup technologies make the use of a fixed, non-adjustable bridge desirable.
For acoustic guitars, it generally is undesirable to provide an adjustable bridge. Since sound in acoustic guitars is accomplished by driving the soundboard as a result of string vibration, it is desirable to keep the weight of the bridge as light as possible. Adjustable bridges tend to increase the weight, thus changing the overall sound quality and impacting on the soundboard serving as an effective sound diaphragm in an acoustic guitar. Moreover, the presence of moving parts in the bridge can lead to instability which may degrade the sound quality of the instrument.
Accordingly, for these types of reasons as well as the issue of tone quality, most acoustic guitars utilize a fixed, non-adjustable bridge. Moreover, the action (as well as the intonation) of most acoustic stringed musical instruments is set at the factory, and is not readily changeable in the field. This is a significant deficiency of these types of instruments since different players prefer different settings for the action. Furthermore, the wood of which most guitars and the like are constructed is an unstable material, and the action of the instrument tends to vary with atmospheric conditions. For instance, an increase in the humidity tends to cause the top of the instrument to rise due to swelling of the wood, which in turn increases the action of the instrument. Moreover, the top of an acoustic guitar moves up and down seasonally and as it ages.
Consequently, acoustic instruments without action adjustment present a constant problem in that they need to be returned on a periodic basis to the manufacturer or to the place that they were purchased for adjustment. Such instruments may need to be returned to the manufacturers by the dealer/retail establishment prior to any sale. Although the intonation of an acoustic stringed musical instrument is not as sensitive to variations in atmospheric conditions or time, any changes in intonation which may be desired also typically require return of the instrument to allow relocation of the position of the bridge on the soundboard. It will be appreciated that any return of the instrument, either before it is ever sold by the dealer or when it is returned to the dealer for periodic adjustment, costs time and money.
Therefore, a strong need remains for a system for mounting the neck of a stringed musical instrument to the instrument""s body in a manner so as to provide for easy and rapid adjustment of the position of the neck relative to the body, and in particular, adjustment of the action of the instrument.
Providing an adjustable neck may provide significant cost savings. For instance, while on display, dealers will be able to maintain optimal action for the instrument irrespective of the seasonal climate, and will be able to adjust the action to meet specific customer preferences at the time of sale. At the factory, providing an adjustable neck joint or system for mounting of the neck to the guitar would permit acoustic guitars to be assembled from complete, pre-finished body and neck sub-assemblies, and then quickly adjusted for ideal intonation and/or action. In this regard, one of the most significant causes of problems and returns of musical instruments concerns the action height, which heretofore could not be easily, rapidly and accurately adjusted. Further, providing an adjustable neck permits one to maintain the height of the bridge on the acoustic instrument without change, which has an important effect on the tonal response for the instrument. Further still, an adjustable neck may be manipulated to accommodate the preferred action level despite varying atmospheric conditions and age changes of the instrument over time. Furthermore, the action could be tweaked just before a performance or even between songs if desired. Moreover, with acoustic electric instruments, which may be used either as an acoustic instrument or an electric instrument, providing an easily and quickly adjustable neck would enable a musician to shift in the field from an acoustically powerful high action to a low electric action in a short time. This would allow the acoustic electric instrument to be adjusted optimally for either acoustic play or electric play, providing a level of versatility that guitars have never known.
As described in applicant""s prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,648 B1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, there are numerous examples in the prior art of devices and systems for adjusting the action of a stringed musical instrument. Applicant""s prior patent improves upon the prior art in that it provides for action adjustment, and in preferred embodiments, intonation adjustment and rigid, stable mounting arrangements, in an easy, rapid and economical manner.
In particular, applicant""s prior invention is directed to providing a spring loaded clamping device for securing the neck of a stringed instrument to the body while permitting limited pivotal movement of the neck relative to the body. The clamping device includes a spring arranged to provide a biasing force for urging the neck toward a neck seating position on the body, and an adjustment member moveably mounted on either the neck or the body so as to move in a direction opposing the biasing force of the spring in order to cause the neck to pivot away from the neck seating position, to thereby adjust the angular position of the neck relative to the body to adjust the action of the instrument. In preferred embodiments, U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,648 B1 also provides an intonation adjustment mechanism for adjusting the intonation of the instrument with rigidity enhancement by urging the neck against a side of a neck recess to provide a firm, rigid and stable mounting of the neck to the body.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,648 B1 provided the aforementioned beneficial improvements, as it will be appreciated from the discussion hereinbelow, the present invention provides considerable further improvements, particularly in the area of ease of use, quickness, and aesthetics.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stringed musical instrument which comprises an instrument body, a neck extending outwardly from the instrument body and arranged to pivot on a fulcrum relative to the body, a plurality of strings attached at one end to the body and at the other end to the neck, at least one holding member for securing the neck to the body while permitting limited pivotal movement of the neck relative to the body, and an adjustment member operatively engaging the neck and the body and arranged so as to be moveable in a predetermined manner to adjust the angular position of the neck relative to the body to thereby adjust the position of the strings relative to the neck. The adjustment member further includes a finger manipulable portion which is adapted to be engaged by the digits of a human hand to move the adjustment member in the predetermined manner.
Specifically, the present invention is directed to providing an easy, tool-less, rapid action adjustment while accomplishing same in an economical manner without providing inherent instability for the instrument. For example, in one embodiment, the action of the guitar may be adjusted by means of a finger manipulable thumbwheel provided on an adjustment member of the type shown in Applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,648 B1, which is located within the guitar""s hollow sound chamber. Locating a fully complete adjustment mechanism within the guitar""s hollow sound chamber is advantageous as there are no tools to lose. Further, even if the adjustment tool were not lost, action adjustment in accordance with the prior art often proved difficult in low light conditions, such as on stage during a performance, because the requisite tool would have to align with the adjustment member. Because the finger manipulated thumbwheel of the present invention can always be found at the installed location, locating the thumbwheel is intuitive and completely natural, even in the low-light conditions typically found in a performance venue.
Access to the thumbwheel is provided through the sound hole. It will be appreciated that the placement in such a location of a thumbwheel large enough to be finger manipulable allows for a quick adjustment of the guitar""s action by a musician without the need for tools. Such an adjustment is so quick and easy that it may be performed on stage between songs during a performance. Further, as mentioned, the position and adjustment of the thumbwheel is completely intuitive. One need not even look at the thumbwheel to locate its position and rotate it the requisite amount for a predetermined adjustment degree. As such, complete adjustment is extremely quick and extremely easy.
Finally, because adjustment is so easy, no special skill is required to adjust the action by means of the present invention. The action may even be adjusted by relatively unskilled retailers at the point of sale, saving valuable time and money over some of the prior art, where action adjustment was either performed at the factory or required special expertise.
Of course, the enlarged finger manipulable thumbwheel could also be provided on other types of adjustment members for adjusting the tilt or action of the neck and which may not employ all of the elements or features of applicant""s prior invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,648 B1. The important aspect in connection with the present invention is that the enlarged thumbwheel or other finger manipulable element is utilized to rotate or otherwise adjust movement of the adjustment member to effect adjustment of the action of the neck. In the case of acoustic guitars having a hollow sound chamber, the thumbwheel is preferably mounted to the adjustment member so as to be located within the hollow sound chamber and to be accessible through the sound hole. In other instruments, such as solid electric guitars, the finger manipulable element may be located below the body of the instrument or within a recess provided within the instrument body. Additional mounting locations may also be provided.